Toddler won't eat!

[FlyingJellyfishintheAttic]

I have a 14 month old DD who anytime I make food for or my DH does she won't eat.

E tend to give her food we've made for everyone as HV recommends this, so spag bol, egg with toast, macaroni cheese etc.

When she goes to nursery theyt give us a sheet saying how she's been all day and she always eats all her meals.

I have no idea what we are doing wrong. It's really stressful.

Anyone have any recipe ideas I can try for her?

Thanks.

Mine won't eat any of that. She has a thing about wet foods.

She will only eat dry things e.g. Fried egg,
Chicken no sauce never mash but may eat boiled potatoes

Dry cooked plain pasta.

Maybe try different approach

Have a think about what they're doing differently at nursery: do they leave her to feed herself whereas you try and spoonfeed her or vice versa? Do they eat as a big group so it's more of a social thing? Are they more relaxed and not, for want of a better word, harassing her during meal times? Are they feeding her the same kinds of thing as you or is their food more/less bland?

She loves other children so I told DH it might be that. DH said that when his son comes to stay (we work opposite eachother so I don't see DSS much) she eats more. Maybe it's because at Nursery they all eat together?

Don't forget they have tiny stomachs still. Something like the size of their palm. I read babies stomaches don't stretch which is why they are often sick, not sure when they start to stretch?

For example, DS is 4.5 and on nursery days they have a tea at about 3.30pm. Sometimes all he wants at home is a yoghurt (I always offer a proper tea as I am making for school age DS). So I don't stress any more.

Maybe your DD could just have some breakfast on non nursery days and if she is not hungry later just offer a banana or some crackers and cheese?

To an adult it seems like nothing but they really will eat if they are hungry (baring real food issues/ SNs)

She loves breakfast and the rest of the day I'm lucky if she picks at food. She seems to hate being sat still to eat aswell.

Thanks for help guys. She is my first so I have nothing to refer to and I just want her to be healthy and happy.

My daughter was similar at that age, my thinking is that some children are hungry at different times of day. So if she's hungry at breakfast then use that as the time to give her more and accept that she won't eat much at other times.

I found it much easier when I ignored my previous thoughts on what was a 'proper' meal at different times of day. They definitely have a phase between growth spurts when they aren't particularly hungry so try not to worry about it.

We also found that she was eating more at nursery, but I put that down to the fact that everyone else was eating too. Early peer pressure!

I know you won't listen to this (and that's not a judgement on you its just that I have been you and worse) D's didn't eat solid food till he was 2.5 (survived on small amounts of baby food 1st stage) first thing he ate was a tiny sliver of slow cooked ham his grandad made him, me and DH cried in happiness,literally, then cooked ham every week for a year. He's now 7 and he eats properly. Your child will get there, he won't starve himself, let him eat what he wants, food is literally the only thing they can control at this age so she is asserting her control (and I Dont mean she's doing it maliciously, I Dont believe children have that capability). Make meal times at home relaxed and fun with no conditions attached and she will start eating at home too eventually, I guarantee this!

Always something to worry about with DC! When you have cracked the sitting still let me know as aforesaid DS2 is STILL wanting to leap up every meal time. "Can I just....?" NO! Sit down!! I am told he is an angel at nursery

Sorry that sounded rude as I didn't finish my sentence, I meant to say I know you won't listen, because i didnt when people said it to me, but everything will be OK!!

Your nursery should be able to provide you with their recipes by the way but be prepares for her to refuse them even of you copy the recipe exactly, its very unlikely this is actually about food

My 12 month old is the same, apparently eats well at nursery but will only manage breakfast at home. Mind you, she has lots for breakfast and I think that sets her up for the day, she still likes her milk too and would rather have that.

Thank you everybody. Coconut you didn't come across as rude at all :). They have provided a copy of their weekly meals so will ask DH to try over the weekend (I'm on nights).

My DD just wants hr milk, only if its cold though.

I will try the whole giving her more at breakfast.

I think part of it is she wants to get on and play. She fights sleep so she can play. Sitting down and eating gets in the way of her exploring.

As long as she is happy and healthy that is all I want.

My 18 month old son is exactly the same. I'd love to know the nurseries secret...

Flying she sounds just like my daughter! Too busy for eating, if she wasn't so messy I wish I could just let her wander round with her food as I'm sure she would eat loads more

Your daughter sounds just like mine, she's now 4.5. I used to stress all the time about it.
Her eating has got better over time. She eats a wider variety of things now.
We've noticed over time that the more we nag her to eat the less she eats. We've also noticed that she finds eating boring which we struggle with as we don't!
We kept trying different style things until we hit on something she really enjoyed. (Anything with gravy and Yorkshires)

She never sits still either, we have found that if she's really not sitting we send her up to her room to have a think. She then comes back and sits as nicely as she can.
You just have to remember that she will eat enough to keep her going, kids are brilliant at that, unlike adults. They don't need much, have a google of kids portion size, it's an eye opener.
Healthy snacks too, we find that if she hasn't t eaten enough at lunch she only has boring snacks in the afternoon (fruits, veg, rice cakes)

I'm with you! X